DAVID Cameron risked infuriating other European leaders today by vowing to "fight to the very end" in his battle to stop a fanatical federalist getting the European Union's top job.

Controversy over arch-federalist Jean-Claude Juncker who could be appointed to Europe's top job[PA/REUTERS/GETTY]

The Prime Minister was understood to be ready to defy Brussels tradition by forcing a vote on the appointment of former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission.

Senior Eurocrat posts have previously been allocated through finding a consensus among the leaders of EU member nations.

But Mr Cameron was believed to be ready to trigger a vote in the European Council on the issue to demonstrate the depth of his opposition to Mr Juncker getting the job.

"I don't mind how many people on the European Council disagree with me, I will fight this right to the very end," he told MPs at Prime Minister's Questions in the Commons yesterday.

Mr Cameron also risked widening divisions in the row by suggesting that leaders had voiced private misgivings about Mr Juncker's candidacy that were at odds with their public support for him.

The Prime Minister told MPs: "What I would say to my colleagues in the European Council, many of whom have expressed interesting views about this principle and this person - if you want reform in Europe, you have got to stand up for it. If you want change in Europe you have got to vote for it.

"That's the message I will take and that's the right message for our country."

Mr Cameron has been battling to stop Mr Juncker succeeding current Commission president Jose Barroso because of his track record of supporting "ever closer union" between EU member states.

The Prime Minister fears the senior MEP and veteran Eurocrat will oppose his attempt to repatriate powers from Brussels back to Westminster.

EU officials suspect that Mr Juncker is virtually guaranteed to get the job after winning the support of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

But Mr Cameron is thought to be ready to force a vote on the issue even though he is almost certain to be defeated.

Under the Qualified Majority Voting (QMV) system used within the European Council, no member state can veto a decision supported by a majority. It means Britain is almost certain to be outvoted over the issue.

There could be hidden benefits in Juncker's appointment, according to Sir John Major [AP]

The Prime Minister's official spokesman made clear that Mr Cameron has not given up hope of blocking Mr Juncker's candidacy.

"The PM's view is not that the die is cast," said the spokesman. "The PM's view is that we need to keep making and defending the important point of principle."

Former Tory prime minister Sir John Major this morning said Mr Juncker should not get the job because he was not a "big figure."

But he claimed that defeat for Mr Cameron in the row could help Britain in the long run because other EU nations would feel obliged to make other concessions.

"I don't know how it is going to turn out with Mr Juncker," Sir John told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"I do not think he is the right candidate, but it is conceivable, for the wrong reasons, that Europe might elect the wrong candidate.

"If that is so, the way Europe often works is, if it has done something that is very much not to the interest of a particular country, they often seek, both subliminally and publicly, to make that right in some other way.

"The question is, can we get a satisfactory negotiation along the lines Britain has been talking about, and my answer to that is categorically, 'yes, we can'."

He added: "I genuinely believe that David Cameron will be able to come back with a successful, significant reform package, that will enable him to put that before the British nation, and for Britain then to vote in a clear-cut way, to stay as a member of the European Union."

Mr Juncker is the leading candidate for the Commission presidency because his centre-right European People's Party was the biggest group in the European Parliament following last month's euro elections.

But Mr Cameron has argued that the huge vote for anti-Brussels parties such as Ukip at the polls has shown the EU cannot carry on as before.